Former player and tennis analyst Laura Robson isn't worried about Rafael Nadal after his most recent injury setback.
Nadal's comeback in Brisbane went spectacularly well but then turned sour towards the end. It started with him playing a superb match to take down Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
While it looked marvelous, it was only one match, so the conclusion was premature. It became a bit more exciting when he bested Jason Kubler in the next match.
Unfortunately, it was too much too soon as a muscle injury occurred, leaving him unable to play at the upcoming Australian Open. It's not ideal, but talking to Eurosport, former player Laura Robson admitted she's not too worried about the Spaniard.
"I'm not concerned [about his lack of matches] because watching him in the first round in Brisbane, I was like, ‘Oh, it's like he's never left. Certainly the Rafa that we know can play like that. That never goes away. The ball striking is always gonna be there."
The play was particularly encouraging for Robson, who was impressed with Nadal. He's not as quick as he once was; however, he still has the skillset necessary to win. It's pretty hard to argue against that, as he likely would have beaten Thompson if he didn't get injured in the final set.
"Maybe you might be half a step slower after that long away, but his intensity is like hardly anyone else on Tour and he just knows how to play matches. He knows where to go on the big points, he knows what to do and when he's in a winning position when he's down in the score line. All of that comes so naturally to him."
Ultimately, time will tell what the future holds for Nadal, but Laura Robson is not really worried. The fact that he said that the injury was minor was all she needed to hear.
"I'm not worried about when he's going to come back. I would assume considering he said it's a minor injury that he's only gonna have to have a couple of weeks off. So, in an ideal world, he could play three or four tournaments before the big clay events."
"Whether that's on hard or on clay I'm not sure, but, no, honestly [I’m] not concerned at all. The most important thing is that he's healthy for the clay season, which I'm sure is his priority."
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